Most see it as a symbolic gesture, but some hope it could help bring real change
Whether they’re studying bioinformatics, history, or astrophysics, Ph.D. recipients in France will soon have to take an integrity oath on the day they successfully defend their thesis, in what seems to be the first national initiative of its kind. Few scientists, in France or elsewhere, believe the oath alone is likely to prevent misconduct. Nonetheless, some see it as a symbolic step in the right direction that might inspire change elsewhere.
We suspect this move by France will prove to be a curiosity and symbolic, resulting in no change to the problem. We suspect an oath won’t alter the behaviour of charlatans and cheats. It also won’t address the damage done by an institution’s research culture that is flawed or toxic.
The new oath is expected to become mandatory for researchers in all fields beginning their Ph.D.s or renewing their Ph.D. enrollment, starting in the fall. A draft of the oath, which had not been finalized or released as Science went to press, reads in part: “I pledge, to the greatest of my ability, to continue to maintain integrity in my relationship to knowledge, to my methods and to my results.”